Costco has free samples. Hulu has a 7-day trial period. Sign up for a newspaper subscription at a summer fest and get a free t-shirt. In an age where anything and everything can be at our fingertips or the click of a mouse, consumers have grown accustomed to a culture of free: free trials, free demos, free perks.
In this era of entitlement to free stuff, how can you overcome that mindset and get paid for your work? You have to prove to consumers that you’re worth the money they’ll pay, meaning that, to some extent, you have to play along with the free game. Going the extra mile is now the standard. Below, I’ve detailed how you can succeed in this culture of free.
Leverage Your Expertise and Educate Others
What are you, or your company, knowledgable about? Where does your experience lie? Think about the product you sell or the service you provide and who your customers are. Stand out by using your specific set of skills to demonstrate why a client or customer can benefit by having you on their side.
A big part of inbound and content marketing is educating your audience with blog posts and content offers. Addressing the needs or problems your audience is facing (problems you can help them solve), lends credibility to your worth. It’s not just enough to say that you know how to do something or are good at something; now you have to show it as well. And you can now do that that through giving away content to potential customers, who will come to see you as a resource to solve their problems, credible when your solutions work, and eventually trust you with their business.
Set Yourself Apart
While you leverage your experience and educate your audience, don’t be afraid to push boundaries. Take a look at what JetBlue did with #NYCTakeoff. They created interactive, one-time use posters throughout New York, giving away tickets and prizes to those who were brave enough to rip off the poster and take it with them. Over 180 rip-away ads were used, leading to more than 65 million media impressions around the world.
You Can’t Win Them All
Sometimes, no matter what you do, a potential client or customer will try to ride the free offer train all the way to the station. And that’s okay. For every prospect that just wants the free samples and has no intention in paying for anything, there will be others around the corner that appreciate the freebies and become interested buyers. Marketing has always been about investing without the guarantee of return. We can track return on investment to make smarter decisions about which products, services, and extras we give away for free . . . but it’s important we don’t stop giving.
Want to know how Sparkfactor can help you use your expertise and stand out among the crowd? Click below for a free inbound marketing consultation.
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